--- title: Off-grid solar for game farms and lodges description: "How game farms and lodges replace diesel with off-grid solar: sizing for guests and pumps, batteries, generator backup and maintenance far from town." image: https://cleanvolts.co.za/hubfs/off-grid-solar-game-lodges-featured.png --- [Skip to content](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/off-grid-solar-game-lodges#main-content) [![CleanVolts](https://cleanvolts.co.za/hs-fs/hubfs/clean%20volts%20logo-2.png?width=1200&height=336&name=clean%20volts%20logo-2.png)Homepage](https://cleanvolts.co.za/) - Get Solar - [Home Solar Installation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/new-installations) - [Business & Commercial Solar](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-for-business) - [Farm Solar](https://cleanvolts.co.za/farm-solar) - [Solar vs Diesel](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-vs-diesel) - [FoxESS Installation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/foxess-installation) - [Free Quote Review](https://cleanvolts.co.za/quote-review) - [Get a Solar Quote](https://cleanvolts.co.za/get-a-quote) - Existing Solar - [Solar Health Check](https://cleanvolts.co.za/health-check) - [Full Solar System Audit](https://cleanvolts.co.za/audit) - [Solar Compliance (CoC & SSEG)](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-compliance) - [Remediation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/remediation) - [Service Plans & Monitoring](https://cleanvolts.co.za/service-plans) - [Solar Panel Cleaning](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-panel-cleaning) - [Tariff Re-Optimisation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/tariff-optimisation) - [Guides](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides) - [Checklist](https://cleanvolts.co.za/checklist) - About - [About CleanVolts](https://cleanvolts.co.za/about) - [Areas We Serve](https://cleanvolts.co.za/areas) - [CleanVolts Approved](https://cleanvolts.co.za/cleanvolts-approved) - [FAQ](https://cleanvolts.co.za/faq) - Partners - [Estate Agents & Conveyancers](https://cleanvolts.co.za/estate-agents) - [Insurance Brokers](https://cleanvolts.co.za/insurance-brokers) - [Join Our Network](https://cleanvolts.co.za/join-our-network) [Get A Quote](https://cleanvolts.co.za/get-a-quote) - Get Solar - [Home Solar Installation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/new-installations) - [Business & Commercial Solar](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-for-business) - [Farm Solar](https://cleanvolts.co.za/farm-solar) - [Solar vs Diesel](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-vs-diesel) - [FoxESS Installation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/foxess-installation) - [Free Quote Review](https://cleanvolts.co.za/quote-review) - [Get a Solar Quote](https://cleanvolts.co.za/get-a-quote) - Existing Solar - [Solar Health Check](https://cleanvolts.co.za/health-check) - [Full Solar System Audit](https://cleanvolts.co.za/audit) - [Solar Compliance (CoC & SSEG)](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-compliance) - [Remediation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/remediation) - [Service Plans & Monitoring](https://cleanvolts.co.za/service-plans) - [Solar Panel Cleaning](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-panel-cleaning) - [Tariff Re-Optimisation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/tariff-optimisation) - [Guides](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides) - [Checklist](https://cleanvolts.co.za/checklist) - About - [About CleanVolts](https://cleanvolts.co.za/about) - [Areas We Serve](https://cleanvolts.co.za/areas) - [CleanVolts Approved](https://cleanvolts.co.za/cleanvolts-approved) - [FAQ](https://cleanvolts.co.za/faq) - Partners - [Estate Agents & Conveyancers](https://cleanvolts.co.za/estate-agents) - [Insurance Brokers](https://cleanvolts.co.za/insurance-brokers) - [Join Our Network](https://cleanvolts.co.za/join-our-network) [Get A Quote](https://cleanvolts.co.za/get-a-quote) ![Thatched bushveld lodge with a fenced ground-mounted solar array beside it](https://cleanvolts.co.za/hs-fs/hubfs/off-grid-solar-game-lodges-featured.png?width=1200&height=630&name=off-grid-solar-game-lodges-featured.png) # Off-grid solar for game farms and lodges ![Tony Lopes](https://cleanvolts.co.za/hs-fs/hubfs/clean%20volts%20launch%20post.png?width=48&height=48&name=clean%20volts%20launch%20post.png) Tony Lopes November 6, 2026 **Short answer:** Size the system for a full lodge in peak season, plus pumps and cooling, with enough battery to carry the night and the generator kept as backup for long cloudy spells. Cut the load first: gas for cooking, solar or heat-pump hot water, efficient fridges. Remote sites also need remote monitoring and a maintenance plan, because every callout is a long drive. *Last updated November 2026.* Many game farms, lodges and bush camps run on diesel generators because the nearest grid line is kilometres away, or the connection that does exist is weak and unreliable. Diesel went from about R19 to almost R32 a litre inland in the year to October 2026, and a generator running through the night is also noise guests didn't come for. Off-grid solar can carry most of the load and leave the generator as a backstop. This guide covers how to plan it. For the wider farm picture, see [solar for farms](https://cleanvolts.co.za/farm-solar). ## **How do game farms and lodges switch from diesel to off-grid solar?** 1. **Measure the load.** Log what the generator runs for a few weeks in high and low season, or list every appliance with its power and hours of use. 2. **Cut the load before sizing.** Every kWh you remove from the evening is battery you don't have to buy. 3. **Size panels for winter.** The array must refill the batteries and run the day loads on a short June day. 4. **Size the battery for the night,** plus some reserve for a grey day. Most designs don't try to cover a whole cloudy week on batteries alone. 5. **Keep the generator, set to start automatically** only when the battery runs low. 6. **Plan monitoring and maintenance** before installation, not after the first fault. ## **What uses the power in a lodge?** This table shows where the energy typically goes and how to reduce it before sizing. Your own loads will differ. | Load | When it runs | How to reduce it | | --- | --- | --- | | Hot water | Mornings and evenings | Solar water heaters or heat pumps, never electric elements on an off-grid system | | Cooking | Meal times | Gas stoves and ovens | | Cold rooms, fridges and freezers | Day and night | Efficient units, good seals and insulation, pre-cooling in the afternoon | | Air conditioning | Hot afternoons and nights | Inverter units, ceiling fans, shading and insulation. Often the hardest load to carry overnight. | | Borehole and pool pumps | Flexible | Run in daylight only, pumping into tanks | | Laundry | Flexible | Run between 10:00 and 15:00, line drying | | Lights, Wi-Fi, security, staff housing | Evenings and overnight | LED lighting and timers | Boreholes are usually best kept as a separate solar pump system feeding a tank, with no battery at all. Our guide to [solar borehole and irrigation pumps](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/solar-borehole-irrigation-pumps) explains the sizing. ## **How does a hybrid system with a generator work?** **Power flow:** panels → off-grid inverter → lodge loads, with surplus charging the battery bank. When the battery falls to a set level, the inverter starts the generator, which runs the loads and recharges the battery, then shuts down. Designed this way, the generator runs for some hours a month in winter instead of every night, and diesel deliveries, servicing and noise all drop. Sizing the system to cover every cloudy day without the generator usually costs far more than it saves. Our guide to [hybrid, grid-tied or off-grid](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/hybrid-vs-grid-tied-vs-off-grid) explains the trade-off. ## **How big a battery bank is needed?** Start from what the lodge uses between sunset and sunrise when it's full. As an illustration, a small lodge using 40 kWh overnight, with lithium batteries you don't run below about 10%, needs roughly 45 kWh of storage just for one night. Adding a margin for a grey morning takes it towards 60 kWh. Every kWh you cut from the evening load, by moving pumps and laundry into the day or swapping electric hot water for solar, comes straight off that number. Battery banks are the most expensive part of off-grid systems. One South African price guide updated in October 2026 put batteries at 40 to 50% of the cost of a fully off-grid home system, and the share is similar at lodge scale. ## **What does a remote site need that a town system doesn't?** - **Remote monitoring** with alerts, over cellular or satellite internet, so the installer can see faults before the lights go out. - **A maintenance plan** with scheduled visits, panel cleaning and battery checks, priced up front. - **Lightning and surge protection** and proper earthing. Open bushveld is lightning country. - **A cool, ventilated, secure battery room** away from guest areas. - **Theft and animal protection.** Fencing, anti-theft fasteners, and protection for cables from rodents, baboons and elephants. - **Spares on site** for common parts, and staff trained in basic checks and safe shutdown. Our guide to [remote monitoring](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/solar-remote-monitoring) covers what to watch. **Safety First** - **Off-grid is still an electrical installation.** It must be installed by a registered person and covered by a Certificate of Compliance. - **The generator must connect through a proper changeover** or the inverter's generator input, never wired in directly. - **Tell your insurer** about the system before it's switched on, especially the battery room. ## **Frequently Asked Questions** ### **Can a lodge run fully off-grid?** Yes, and many do. Most still keep a generator as a backstop for long cloudy spells and very full weeks, because sizing batteries to cover every bad day costs far more than the diesel it saves. ### **How big a battery bank is needed?** Enough for your overnight use when the lodge is full, plus a margin. Measure the evening load first and cut it with gas cooking, solar hot water and daytime pumping. The smaller the night load, the smaller and cheaper the battery. ### **Who maintains a remote system?** Ideally the installer, under a maintenance plan agreed before installation, with remote monitoring so problems are spotted early. Train staff in basic checks and safe shutdown, and keep common spares on site. ## **Where We Fit In** CleanVolts matches game farms and lodges with vetted, registered [CleanVolts Approved](https://cleanvolts.co.za/cleanvolts-approved) installers who cover your area. Send us your diesel and electricity costs and a list of your main loads, and an installer can design a system around your season, your guests and your pumps. You contract the installer directly. Using CleanVolts costs you nothing, and if the installer pays us a referral fee, we tell you up front. [**Send your farm electricity or diesel costs**](https://cleanvolts.co.za/business-solar-enquiry) · [Farm solar](https://cleanvolts.co.za/farm-solar) *Sources: [BusinessTech on October 2026 fuel prices](https://businesstech.co.za/news/?p=878527); [EnergyBee, updated October 2026: the cost of going off-grid](https://energybee.co.za/news/cost-to-go-off-grid-south-africa-2026).* ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fcleanvolts.co.za%2Fguides%2Foff-grid-solar-game-lodges](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fcleanvolts.co.za%2Fguides%2Foff-grid-solar-game-lodges) ## Keep reading ### [![Couple looking at solar panels on the roof of a Johannesburg face-brick house they are viewing](https://cleanvolts.co.za/hs-fs/hubfs/buying-a-house-with-solar-featured.png?width=1200&height=630&name=buying-a-house-with-solar-featured.png) Buying a house with solar: checks before you sign](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/buying-a-house-with-solar) ### [![Fruit farm packhouse and cold store with solar panels on its roof and stacked fruit crates at the loading dock](https://cleanvolts.co.za/hs-fs/hubfs/solar-cold-rooms-packhouses-featured.png?width=1200&height=630&name=solar-cold-rooms-packhouses-featured.png) Solar for cold rooms, packhouses and dairies](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/solar-cold-rooms-packhouses) [![CleanVolts](https://cleanvolts.co.za/hs-fs/hubfs/clean%20volts%20logo-2.png?width=1200&height=336&name=clean%20volts%20logo-2.png "CleanVolts")](https://cleanvolts.co.za/) - Get Solar - [Home Solar Installation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/new-installations) - [Business & Commercial Solar](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-for-business) - [Farm Solar](https://cleanvolts.co.za/farm-solar) - [Solar vs Diesel](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-vs-diesel) - [FoxESS Installation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/foxess-installation) - [Free Quote Review](https://cleanvolts.co.za/quote-review) - [Get a Solar Quote](https://cleanvolts.co.za/get-a-quote) - Existing Solar - [Solar Health Check](https://cleanvolts.co.za/health-check) - [Full Solar System Audit](https://cleanvolts.co.za/audit) - [Solar Compliance (CoC & SSEG)](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-compliance) - [Remediation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/remediation) - [Service Plans & Monitoring](https://cleanvolts.co.za/service-plans) - [Solar Panel Cleaning](https://cleanvolts.co.za/solar-panel-cleaning) - [Tariff Re-Optimisation](https://cleanvolts.co.za/tariff-optimisation) - [Guides](https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides) - [Checklist](https://cleanvolts.co.za/checklist) - About - [About CleanVolts](https://cleanvolts.co.za/about) - [Areas We Serve](https://cleanvolts.co.za/areas) - [CleanVolts Approved](https://cleanvolts.co.za/cleanvolts-approved) - [FAQ](https://cleanvolts.co.za/faq) - Partners - [Estate Agents & Conveyancers](https://cleanvolts.co.za/estate-agents) - [Insurance Brokers](https://cleanvolts.co.za/insurance-brokers) - [Join Our Network](https://cleanvolts.co.za/join-our-network) --- [Privacy Policy](https://cleanvolts.co.za/privacy-policy/) · [Terms of Service](https://cleanvolts.co.za/terms) © 2026 CleanVolts. All rights reserved. ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Tony Lopes", "url" : "https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/author/tony-lopes" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-06T14:59:10.087Z", "datePublished" : "2026-11-06T14:59:10.000Z", "headline" : "Off-grid solar for game farms and lodges", "image" : [ "https://cleanvolts.co.za/hubfs/off-grid-solar-game-lodges-featured.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://cleanvolts.co.za/guides/off-grid-solar-game-lodges", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://cleanvolts.co.za/hubfs/clean%20volts%20logo-2.png" }, "name" : "CleanVolts" } } ```